Hi Andy - as I mention above, the V-Strom will be an excellent mile-muncher, and offers a little more room - two up and with hard luggage particularly.

However, having ridden the CB500X (with a Rally-Raid kit) for many thousands of miles over this summer, I can honestly say it is exceptionally good at covering big distances, at anything close to the legal speed limit or a little beyond (ultimately it pretty much runs out of puff by 100mph - although it is geared nicely to pull keenly all the way up to that maximum, and even at 75-80mph, there is enough urge in reserve to pull out and overtake slower traffic easily enough).

For me though, it's really forte is picking those roads away from the main multi-lane highways... I had what I considered probably my best day ever on two wheels (well, on paved roads at least) riding the CB500X in the Appalachian mountains in Virginia on my way east this summer - usurping a previous epic trip to the Alps on my Ducati Monster!

At the end of the day, the CB500X (actually only 471cc) has a little less than 50hp - so you have to keep that in mind. However, the combination of a linear power delivery and well spaced gearing means it never feels anything less than lively and I find the engine really is a joy to ride - particularly if you snick it down a gear or two and use the revs above 5000rpm - you'll be surprised how eager it feels.

Some may feel the engine is a little 'bland' or at least un-characterful, but so often 'character' is used to justify what can turn out to be a tiresome trait, particularly if you're planning on riding day-in and day-out...

Someone else described [riding the CB on a long trip] perfectly recently: that more often than not the bike itself ends up fading into the background, allowing you to concentrate fully on where it is you are actually riding.

Again, I can only recommend to try and test ride one, and make up your own mind.

Jenny x

Good thread really
Wondering what should be the price here ( France) because the bike in this configuration is not for sale here .
What are the price in your countries ?
At this moment I am making up my mind about
- buying a nice second hand just runned in pegaso 650 , whic should be nice for pavement on a Russia/Georgia/Armenia and so trip and OK for the rest as i feel it, some kind of a xt i found nicer ( yamaha engine 650, 5 valves), less than 3000 euros . and almost prepared .
- going again to Morocco mostly pistes with my DRZ ,
- or riding north by road with the B8 !!! that is a bike .

Hi ex-xt - do you mean the Honda CB500 is not available in the X version (as opposed to the F and the CBR-R model), or you mean the Rally-Raid kit?

Rally-Raid can ship all over the world (although US customers can buy direct from Giant Loop), and the Rally-Raid website has a currency converter to Euros to help you price everything.

Hope that helps...

Jenny x

Thanks Jenny,

I need to try one for size with the wife on the back (does about 250 miles a year, but is a necessary feature to consider) , but looks good to me.

The power is spot on IMHO. My current 48 HP Guzzi V7 will break any UK speed limit, two up with luggage. 70 HP just cost me tyres. The CB appeals because unlike a lot of 50 HP bikes it has range, they didn't spec it like a commuter bike.

Andy

thanks jenny
Honda CB500F - Présentation
no "X" model in France . As I have heard around in the "bike" world , Honda is not "targeting " this market so much now !

Ah, interesting - thanks for clarifying that ex-xt and Jmi...

I guess Honda want all eyes on the new Africa Twin for the moment? (much more €€€s for them ;o)

In the meantime, the latest video and review from the UK in Brake magazine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmke46ug78

A "2-wheeled Land Rover Defender 90" - I can go with that....

Jx

Long term report on my RR CB-X

__________________
Adventure Motorcycling Handbook 8 • Morocco Overland 3 • Overlanders Handbook 2 • Twit

Thanks for the update Chris!
Sounds like good progress is being made. No surprise to me the 19" front is so good. Lots of bikes have gone 19F/17R, it's worked out well. If balance and geometry are adjusted from stock 17/17, (apparently it is!) the thing should turn and handle better than stock off road.

A 19" front will always give better confidence/tracking off road. Get tire pressures down a bit more and should be even better. I agree with you that 26 psi may be reason for harshness.

What about a DID Dirt Star wheel? Using Bib Mouse perhaps? Not sure what sizes Dirt Star come in, just a thought. Not sure why the Bart Wheel is so heavy? But as you say, Tough is good in a travel bike. Dirt Star are really tough.

Difficult problem to fit that shock in that tight spot ... shame no remote preload. Maybe in future a solution will present?

Weight gain is no surprise. We all need the guards, Barkbusters, bash plates and such.

On my DR650 I've found using lightweight pannier racks saves a few kgs. But I use throw over soft panniers too, which helps weight. (cheap ones)
When comparing the 500X RR with single dual sports (660 and others) remember both Honda's XR650L and DR650 are lighter than both Yam, Kawi, and BMW by a large margin.

My DR650 fully loaded with luggage and 5 gal. (19 lt) fuel weighed in at 430 lbs. (195 kg.) on certified transport scale. Not too bad. But it will never have the comfort and smoothness of the 500X and won't match it on longish highway rides.

Keep up the testing.

Thanks for an interesting, thoughtful review.

Your ownership has been a few months and a few thousand miles if I understand fully.
I would put that in the short term timescale.

"Long term" means you are selling and moving on to the next project bike?

__________________
Dave

The latest press review of the CB500X Adventure here in RUST magazine (UK)...

https://rustsports.s3.amazonaws.com/Rust%234.pdf

Some excellent photography too!

Jx

A short behind the scenes interview with John Mitchinson from Rally-Raid Products about the development and ethos behind the CB500X Adventure kit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Joc1gId0Q

Plus the Rally-Raid CB500X Adventure (LEVEL 3 kit) on the Honda stand at the Vancouver Motorcycle Show this weekend - complete with Giant Loop luggage:



Jx

I love the last line in the interview!
This guy is brilliant!

What does everyone think of that GL bag hung on the back there?
I know they pay you ... but .... uh ...

The GL looks a long way back.

Surely that's not the standard seat as it looks completely unuseable for a pillion. Take the pillion pegs off to save some weight.

But it does look good and I'm sure it will attract some interest.

Hi Magnon - that is the standard seat, and I can confirm it works perfectly well for a pillion, although there is a pronounced step in it as you can see.

I've found there is also plenty of room for a solo rider, although there are optional aftermarket seats/seat foams & covers available from the usual suspects if you'd prefer a taller and/or flatter seat.

The nice thing I've found about the stock bike is the flat pillion pad in combination with the OEM passenger grab handles is it provides a nice flat surface for strapping a duffle/dry bag too for example - very handy for casual luggage carrying...

The seat is also wide enough to be comfortable (certainly compared to a traditional thumper dual-sport bike) but still narrow enough to take a rack-less Giant Loop banana style bag as pictured above.

Jx

Hi Molly! - yes, he has his moments doesn't he ;o)

As for the Giant Loop bag - the yellow one in the photo above is the Great Basin (the larger of the two they make), I used the smaller (39L) Coyote on my trip last year:



Which I found sufficient capacity for everything I needed to carry (see the ride report here for more info) - basically this included all my spare clothes, a pair of sandals and a lightweight camping set-up.

The tail bag (also Giant Loop) contained my tools and puncture kit - a 12v pump was under the seat along with some jumper cables - and I had a Camel-bak that expanded to give 15L of cargo space for food and daily essentials.

Regardless of any association with Giant Loop (to clarify, I work with Rally-Raid in the UK, Giant Loop are the US distributor), I actually really like their system of luggage.

In the past I've used the Wolfman Beta duffle for travelling on my XR, and a couple of Ortlieb dry bag/duffles on the rear seat of my Tenere - and I've been happy with all of them - although the Wolfman Beta is not a waterproof bag, which is why that tended to be used just for summer jaunts in Europe.

I will say, the Coyote fits particularly well on the CB500X (and also on a KTM 690 which I've also ridden with that bag) - it's really easy to take on and off each morning and evening, and can be easily accessed when it's on the bike.

It also keeps the weight in a nice place so as not to encroach on your riding - and this is particularly noticeable when off-road - which is what that style of bag was originally designed for of course.

There are a couple of issues I found with the bag longer-term... the first is that the main zipper can sometimes be difficult to do up, especially if it's been filled with dust and or the bag is packed so that the zip itself is puckered slightly. I will say however that the zip (and stitching) is exceptionally strong - it never once gave me cause for concern even when I was forcing it!

The other thing is the main bag itself is not 100% waterPROOF (Giant Loop do point this out btw.), due to the stitched method of construction.

I will say I found it to be very very water-resistant on the whole, but in a torrential downpour (of which there were a few), it can start to leak around the bottom corners - while the storm flap over the zip I found did a very good job of not leaking.

Giant Loop also include a set of 3 internal dry bags which are guaranteed waterproof, and these also help you to pack the interior in a modular fashion - I find it works well, although personally I supplemented the supplied dry bags with my own system of smaller colour-coded bags which is my preference.

So, personally I've found this set-up works very well indeed for the kind of lightweight travel-touring (with a fair proportion of off-road and unknown trail riding thrown in).

Hope that helps...

Jenny x